ALEXANDRIA, Va. The value of pharmacy in medication adherence was emphasized in the newest issue of Health Affairs, prompting praise from an industry group catering to the drug retailing industry.

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores said Wednesday that an article in the May 2010 issue of the journal -- entitled “Why Pharmacists Belong In the Medical Home” and authored by Marie Smith, head of the University of Connecticut's school of pharmacy department of pharmacy practice; David Bates, division chief of general medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Thomas Bodenheimer, adjunct professor of family and community medicine at the University of California, San Francisco; and Paul D. Cleary, dean of the School of Public Health, Yale University -- discussed the delivery of primary care through collaboration among patients, their providers and potentially the patient’s family. The objective of this concept is to foster healthcare access and quality for better health.

“Pharmacists can play important roles in optimizing therapeutic outcomes and promoting safe, cost-effective medication use for patients in medical homes,” the authors stated. “They are well-trained health professionals, yet they are often underused,” adding that “pharmacist-provided medication management services and collaborative drug therapy management programs, supported by robust electronic health records and health information exchanges, should be implemented and evaluated with appropriate reimbursement models in medical home demonstration projects or research studies sponsored by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, state agencies, employers, commercial payers, physician groups, or academia.”

NACDS president and CEO said these statements were a “well-deserved tribute to pharmacy patient care” and the the organization has has pledged that pharmacy will own the issue of medication adherence.

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